8 



POPULAR SCIENCE :NEWS. 



[January, 1888. 



to fermentation in the alimentary canal. The 

 dangers of loss of health on this food is much less 

 than on flour or sugar. AVhen so much is said of the 

 privation of home missionaries and their ill health, 

 the thought has occurred to me, how much might 

 be saved if this form of food were well known and 

 popular. Even where there are no smutting-mills, 

 the wheat can be used as the old Roman soldier 

 lived on it, carrying a bag of wheat in his pocket 

 on his marches. The less sugar used, the better, as 

 all the starch of the wheat has to be converted into 

 glucose before assimilation. If people were taught 

 to use less sugar, they would know better what are 

 the natural flavors of their food, and like them just 

 as well, if not better, and have much better health. 

 — Extract from " Food in Motherhood." 



THE ACIDS OF FRUITS. 



Mr. George W. Johnson, in his Chemistry of the 

 World, says, in describing the " vegetable food of 

 the world," " The grateful acid of the rhubarb-leaf 

 arises from the malic acid and bin-oxalate of potash 

 which it contains; the acidity of the lemon, orange, 

 and other species of the genus citrus is caused by 

 the abundance of citric acid which their juice con- 

 tains; that of the cherry, plum, apple, and pear, 

 from the malic acid in their pulp; that of goose- 

 berries and currants, black, red, and white, from 

 a mixture of malic and citric acids; that of the 

 grape from a mixture of malic and tartaric acids ; 

 that of the mango from citric acid and a very 

 fugitive essential oil ; that of the tamarind from a 

 mixture of citric, malic, and tartaric acids; the 

 flavor of asparagus from aspartic acid, found also 

 in the root of the marshmallow ; and that of the 

 cucumber from a peculiar poisonous ingredient 

 called fungin, which is found in all fungi, and 

 is the cause of the cucumber being offensive to 

 some stomachs. It will be observed that rhubarb 

 is the only fruit which contains bin-oxalate of pot- 

 ash in conjunction with an acid. It is this ingre- 

 dient which renders this fruit so wholesome at the 

 early commencement of the summer, and this is 

 one of the wise provisions of nature for supplying 

 a blood-purifier at a time when it is likely to be 

 most needed. Beet-root owes its nutritious qual- 

 ity to about nine per cent of sugar which it con- 

 tains, and its flavor to a peculiar substance contain- 

 ing nitrogen mixed with pectic acid. The carrot 

 owes its fattening powers also to the sugar, and its 

 flavor to a peculiar fatty oil ; the horse-radish de- 

 rives its flavor and blistering power from a volatile 

 acrid oil. The Jerusalem artichoke contains four- 

 teen and a half per cent of sugar and three per 

 cent of inulin (a variety of starch), besides gum 

 and a peculiar substance to which its flavor is ow- 

 ing: and lastly, garlic, and the rest of the onion 

 family, derive their peculiar odor from a yellowish, 

 volatile, acrid oil; but they are nutritious from 

 containing nearly half their weight of gummy and 

 glutinous substances not yet clearly defined." 



HOW TO USE CANNED GOODS. 

 An "expert," writing to the Grocers' Chronicle, 

 points out that canned goods should be turned out 

 and eaten as soon as possible. If kept at all, the 

 food should be covered up and placed in a cool 

 place, — always, however, turned out of the origi- 

 nal tin. The liquor around lobsters, salmon, and 

 all vegetables, excepting tomatoes, it is desirable 

 to strain off and throw away. Lobsters and prawns 

 are improved by being turned out into a sieve, and 

 rinsed with clean cold water. Never on any account 

 add vinegar, sauces, or any kind of condiment to 

 tinned foods while they are in the tins, and never 

 eave such mixtures to remain an hour or two, if 



from forgetfulness it is done. All tinned goods 

 are put up as fresh as it is possible to be, but, un- 

 less corned or salted, will not keep if turned out, 

 as freshly cooked goods will, and certainly not 

 longer, as many thoughtlessly suppose or expect 

 they will. Sardines, if preserved in good oil, and 

 if of good quality, will be an exception; as long 

 as the oil is good, the fish can be kept in the tins. 

 But seven days is long enough to trust these before 

 eating. Consumers should not buy larger packages 

 of canned goods than they can consume quickly; if 

 they should, most of the fish and meats can be 

 potted after re-cooking, sauces and seasoning being 

 added. If the nose and eyes are properly used, it 

 is as impossible to partake of an unsound tin of 

 canned food of any kind as to partake of bad 

 meat, fish, or vegetables from a shop. 



DO HORSES HAVE HORSE SENSE? 



A WRITER in the Chicago Journal thinks the 

 intelligence of the horse is greatlj' over-rated, 

 and submits the result of some of his obser- 

 vations as evidence : — 



I have seen horses walk around a post until they 

 had wound up the bridle, and then stand all day 

 with their heads bound down to the post, because 

 they didn't have sense enough to walk the other 

 way, and unwind the bridle. I have seen them get 

 a foot over the bridle, when tied to a ring in the 

 pavement, and then go into fits, because they didn't 

 have sense enough to lift their feet over the bridle 

 again. I have seen them prance around in a burn- 

 ing barn, with their tails and manes on fire, and 

 burn to death, because they did not have sense 

 enough to run out. Anybody can steal a horse 

 without any objection from the horse. A horse 

 will stand and starve or freeze to death, with noth- 

 ing between him and a comfortable stall and plenty 

 of oats, except an old door that he could kick down 

 with one foot, or that could be opened by removing 

 a pin with his teeth. If this is a high degree of 

 intelligence, even in a brute, then I am lacking in 

 that article myself. Compared with the dog, the 

 elephant,, or even the parrot, the horse seems to me 

 to be a perfect fool. 



— « — 



SELECTED RECIPES. 



Oyster Sandwiches. — Take large stewing 

 oysters, pound them in a mortar (having previ- 

 ously cut off their beards) with a little cayenne and 

 lemon-juice. Spread this mixture on thin slices of 

 brown bread and butter, cut into rounds the size 

 of a silver dollar. 



Tomato Sandwiches. — Skin half a dozen 

 tomatoes, cut them into slices, pour over them a 

 few drops of anchovy sauce, and then mash them 

 with a little mayonnaise sauce. Grate a little 

 Parmesan cheese over them, and place them be- 

 tween thin rounds of bread and butter. 



Omelette as Made in France. — Four eggs, 

 three tablespoonfuls of milk, one tablespoonful of 

 sweet herbs chopped fine (parsley, lemon, thyme, 

 marjoram ; dried herbs in the winter), two table- 

 spoonfuls of grated cheese, three ounces of butter. 

 Beat up the eggs, then add the milk, herbs, and 

 cheese. Put the butter into a frying-pan ; let boil 

 until it sputters, then pour in the omelette, stir it 

 round carefully one way till it thickens, then shake 

 it a little, so that it does not stick to the pan, and 

 serve up hot. 



Iced Fruit for Dessert. — Select your fruit ; 

 small kinds, like currants or berries, being espe- 

 cially suitable. Beat up the whites of two eggs, and 

 mix with a quarter part of water. Have some 

 finely pounded sugar ready in a dish. Then dip 

 I the fruit in the egg-water, drain for a minute or so, 



and roll in the powdered sugar. Lay it on paper 

 to dry, when the sugar will crystallize on the sur- 

 face, producing a very pretty effect. A mixture of 

 various fruits iced in this manner, and arranged in 

 one dish, presents a fine appearance on the table. 



Orange Custard Fritters. — Break two and 

 a half eggs into a stewpan, with half pound of flour. 

 Mix, and pour in by degrees one pint of milk, and 

 stir over the fire for twenty minutes, when the cus- 

 tard should have become smooth ; take it off the 

 fire, and add two ounces of pounded sugar, half an 

 ounce of grated orange-peel, three yolks of eggs, 

 and a dust of salt. Mix these well together, and 

 spread the custard to one inch thickness on a slight- 

 ly buttered baking sheet. When cold, cut it into 

 pieces two inches by one inch and a quarter ; dip 

 the pieces in egg breadcrumb, and fry them in very 

 hot fat till slightly colored; drain, sprinkle them 

 with sugar, and pile them up high on a fancy paper 

 in a dish, and serve. 



Devilled Sardines. — Take a tablespoonful of 

 chutney paste, four of cold stock, one of mushroom 

 catchup, one of vinegar, two of made mustard, and 

 two of fresh butter. Mix all these very smoothly 

 together in a deep dish. Put about eight sardines 

 into this mixture, and stew them gently till 

 thoroughly warmed. Soak some thin water-biscuits 

 in sweet oil, then rub each side well over with this 

 mixture, and toast the biscuits on a gridiron over 

 a clear fire. Place them on a dish, lift out each 

 sardine separately, cutting off the heads and tails, 

 split open and bone, and turn each one to fit a bis- 

 cuit ; lay one on each, and brown with a salamander. 

 Serve quickly and very hot as a savory. 



Rock Cakes. — Take two pounds of best white 

 flour, two teaspoonfuls of salt, six ounces of pow- 

 dered lump sugar, one pound of currants or chopped 

 raisins, half a pound of butter, two eggs, and a 

 pint of milk. Mix together the flour, baking- 

 powder, salt, and sugar, then work in the butter. 

 Next mix in the currants. Thoroughly beat up 

 the eggs, and, still slowly beating, add the milk to 

 them. Lastly, mix up the milk and other" ingre- 

 dients with a spoon into a stiff batter. You must 

 have a good-sized flat, shallow tin, well greased. 

 Upon this drop the stiff batter with a fork in little 

 rough heaps, keeping each heap separate, so that 

 when baked they will have a rough, irregular sur- 

 face. Bake in a quick oven. Do not make the 

 heaps too large, but so that when baked they will 

 be about as big round as a teacup. Whilst baking 

 try one occasionally with a fork, to see that they 

 are not only nicely done outside of a yellowish 

 brown, but that the inside also is properly baked. 

 If the fork will draw out clear, and not sticky, they 



are all right. 



— • — 



GLEANINGS. 



An Insect-catching Orchid. — It has been 

 ascertained that an Australian orchid belonging to 

 the genus Masdevallia possesses a sensitive lip or 

 labellum. An insect alighting upon it is lifted up 

 and caught in a box formed by the lip and other 

 floral organs when the lip is closed. After the 

 lapse of a few minutes the lip relaxes, resumes its 

 former position, and is ready to entrap another 

 insect in the same way. The movements have 

 reference to cross-fertilization. 



Fruit-Canning in California. — The canning 

 of fruits and vegetables in California has increased 

 rapidly within the last few years. It has nearly 

 trebled in a decade, the pack of last season exceed- 

 ing 760,000 cases, and that of 1887 is e-stimated to 

 be at least thirty per cent larger, making the pro- 

 duction nearly 1,000,000 cases. Eighty per c«nt 

 of these canned goods are marketed east of the 

 Rocky Mountains, not a few of them being sold 

 for direct export to Europe. 



